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Thursday, March 5, 2015

Arches and Canyonlands: Hiking through Utah

For the second stop on our
Utah road trip, we chose Moab, home to two national parks: Arches and
Canyonlands.

Not surprisingly, Arches is
absolutely full of beautiful rock arches. We stumbled upon them
everywhere.Hiking along the Devil’s
Garden Trail, we stopped to admire the famous landscape arch, as well as
several other unique formations.

Although we were slightly
less impressed with the black angel outcrop marking the trail’s halfway point,
the hike itself boasted one spectacular vista after another, the
snow-capped mountains in the distance providing the perfect contrast for the
blazing red rocks along the trail.

After
passing a few of the most famous arches, the well-marked trail transformed into
a so-called “primitive trail” for the rest of the lengthy loop.We followed a series of small rock cairns through
the sand, around ponds, and along the rocks.On our way, we discovered even more arches hidden in the park’s fin
canyons.

Of course, a visit to
Arches wouldn’t be complete without seeing the precarious “delicate arch.”Sure enough, it was perched on the hillside –
along with the nearby north and south “windows,” the perfect setting for a
photo or two.

Before we visited
Canyonlands on the second day of our explorations, we stopped at Dead Horse Point State Park.Susan had promised that the views would rival
the photos of the Fish River Canyon we had posted back in September.As we hiked to the point (actually the site
of the demise of numerous horses as the name indicates), the views from the rim
were certainly incredible and the canyon itself somewhat resembled its African counterpart. However, it didn’t quite capture the desolate beauty we
had found in Namibia, particularly since we could see the potash production in the distance.

However, we soon arrived
at the Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands, where we marveled at the
spectacular vistas laid out before us.Our vantage point on the rim of the 6,000 foot mesa provided the perfect
spot for a picnic and a scenic hike, despite the vertigo.This mesa-top view certainly rivaled the scene we had encountered at the Fish River Canyon.

At Canyonlands, we sadly
missed the Needles section of the park, made famous in the film 127 Hours.Instead of a day scrambling through narrow
passageways in the rock while Giorgio shouted “James Franco!” we stayed out of
trouble hiking along the rim of the mesa.

We didn’t have quite
enough time to hike down into the canyon spread out below us and make it back
up before sunset, but there was still plenty of time to explore the island in the sky.We found yet another beautiful arch and
stopped to wonder about the meteor that may or may not have crashed down to
create the park’s “upheaval dome.”

As a side note, we had
been a bit concerned about the availability of alcohol in the notoriously dry
state of Utah.However, we shouldn’t
have been concerned – there was plenty of local craft beer!Just don’t ask for a sampler of the various
beers on tap because you aren’t allowed to have more than two drinks, no matter
the size.

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About Us

Gio's Description: We are citizens of the world!
Steph's Description: Follow our newlywed adventures from NYC to Africa to SE Asia and finally, to Peru! (With a few stops for weddings along the way.) All adventures planned and documented by Steph, photographed by Gio. As you will probably notice, lots of our adventures involve ponies, seeing wild animals and/or drinking wine. Enjoy!
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